Robert A. Heinlein

[utah007]

Heinlein is my favorite author of all time. He's a sci-fi writer mostly. For my money it doesn't get any better. You know some authors can get really repetitive, Heinlein always keeps surprising me. The man was far ahead of his time.
Some of his books...
Starship Troopers (way better than the movie)
Stranger in a Strange Land (ultimate!)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (haven't read yet but will soon)
Red Planet (I haven't seen the movie yet but I'm sure the book is better)
Glory Road (this is fantasy, still excellent)

[rs0522]

If you like science fiction, let me recommend 'The Dispossessed" by Ursula LeGuin. It won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, in my opinion deservedly so.

The jacket blurb of my edition describes it as the story of 'an ambiguous utopia'. The protagonist, Shevek, grows up in an anarchical society, and travels to a companion world (from which his ancestors came) where there are standard societies. It is outstanding.

I really like the older space operas as well. The Lensman and Skylark series by E.E.Smith, John Campbell's earlier stuff. All powered by the enthusiastic assumption that there is nothing wrong with the universe that cannot be fixed with a good big dose of technology.

I am looking to find a short story I read in an anthology once. Can't remember the author. The hero travels forward in time, and finds a knife made of a material no one has ever seen. He brings it back to the present, and they put it in a museum. Then the hero travels forward in time again to find out where the knife came from. Nobody can tell him; just that the knife dates from long ago and has always been there.

The paradoxes of time travel are endlessly fascinating.

Regards,
rs0522